World Investment Advisors Has $1.94 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 79.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,326 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $214.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.89. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $327.34. The company has a market capitalization of $55.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.25 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.